Detroit, like most other cities, has properties that can be bought with the sole intent of renting them out as an investment. For this reason, like elsewhere, there is a need for Detroit property management companies and like these types of companies elsewhere, there is completion between them. If you are a property investor in Detroit this means that you should consider carefully which company you hire to manage your properties as the proper management of them can make a big difference on the return on your investment.

You will want to ensure that the company you hire is a reputable one and is professional in their actions. You will of course want to know what they charge for their services but perhaps even more important than that, you will want to know how well they screen their tenants. Obviously in order to receive money from an investment like this, you need to have tenants that pay on time and are likely to do so well into the future. To ensure this, a property manager should vet potential tenants carefully, rejecting any that have a history of poor payment with other landlords. So ideally, the property manager will only accept tenants that have well-paid jobs and a good record with previous landlords.

Of course this is not always as easy as it seems especially if you only get one or two tenant applications and some could argue that a bad tenant is better than no tenant. This means that before an investor hires a property manager, they ensure that the manager knows how to properly market, or advertise, that there are properties available to rent. The more people that know about the property being available, the more people are likely to apply for tenancy. With more people applying for tenancy, there is a better chance of finding the most suitable.

It is also the responsibility of the property manager to maintain the property in good order. This is not just for the convenience of the tenants though as it also ensures the property maintains its value, protecting the owner’s investment. A good property manager should therefore oversee all maintenance in a timely fashion and perhaps even arrange routine maintenance checks.

As the property manager is usually local and knows the rents that are being charged for similar properties in the same area, they will usually set the rental rates, in consultation with the owner of course. Although both the manager and the owner would like to charge as much as possible, they do not want to price the property so high that it sits empty for long periods of time and so prudence should be used when considering rates.

There is little doubt that buying properties to rent out can be a wise investment and see profits amount over time but this is only the case if the property is properly managed and maintained. Once any mortgage has been paid from the rental fees, the property becomes the full property of the investor who can then opt to keep an income from rents or sell it.